1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a hinge member of a door of a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A refrigerator is a home appliance configured to freshly store foods by providing a main body having a storage compartment, a cold air supply device configured to supply cold air to the storage compartment, and a door provided to open and close the storage compartment.
A plurality of storage compartments which are divided from each other in a vertical direction may be provided at the main body, and a plurality of doors may be provided to open and close the storage compartments, respectively. Generally, in a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type or a French door type refrigerator (FDR) in which a refrigerating compartment is formed at an upper portion and a freezing compartment is formed at a lower portion, a door of the refrigerating compartment is rotatably provided by an upper hinge member and an intermediate hinge member, and a door of the freezing compartments slidably provided in a form of a drawer by a sliding device.
The intermediate hinge member is coupled to a lower portion of the door of the refrigerating compartment to support a weight of the refrigerator, and includes a hinge pin forming a rotational axis of the door of the refrigerating compartment. The intermediate hinge member includes a main body coupler provided substantially parallel to a front surface of the main body to be coupled thereto, and a door supporter protruding perpendicular to the main body coupler to support the door. The hinge pin may be provided to protrude upward from the door supporter, and may be inserted into a hinge recess formed at a lower portion of the door of the refrigerating compartment.
A predetermined gap may be formed between the intermediate hinge member and the door of the freezing compartment. This is to prevent interference between the intermediate hinge member and the door of the freezing compartment due to sagging phenomena of the door of the refrigerating compartment and the intermediate hinge member, and to improve an overall exterior appearance of the refrigerator.
However, when a portion of the freezing compartment protrudes toward the intermediate hinge member, the gap between the intermediate hinge member and the door of the freezing compartment becomes relatively narrow at the protruding portion.